Malls and sprawl in Dallas
Completely commodified public space
but architecture school ignore these issues and didn't engage the world around them
instead it emphasized an inner coherence that was primarily about architecture itself

29 January 2013

On Wednesday, Mark Yoes and Claire Weisz, the founding partners of WXY Architects, will discuss how they manipulate architectural tectonics to create infrastructures that enhance social interaction. WXY Architects is currently engaged in the feasibility study for a visitor's center for Rutgers Gardens.

The lecture, which is open to the public, will be held in Rm. 110 Cook Douglass Lecture Hall @ 4 PM.
(http://ruevents.rutgers.edu/events/displayEvent.html?eventId=75495)

28 January 2013

Schlaug feels his images appear as a cross-section of landscape that
lure the viewer into believing they are seeing something below the
surface of the land. It’s an intentional trick that is meant to keep the
viewer looking at the image for a longer period of time.

But there is something else about the landscapes he has chosen. Many are seemingly mundane, working landscapes. With his selection, though, these landscapes are transformed into a place of focus.

11 January 2013

[There is
a] rather widespread belief that thinking must interfere with doing. …[But] both ordinary people and professional
practitioners often think about what they are doing, sometimes even while
doing it.

08 January 2013

2013 Geodesign International Conference will be held in October 28-29, 2013 in Beijing, China. This conference will be the joint effort of Peking University and ESRI, building upon recent
advances in the US and elsewhere.

Many
internationally renowned researchers, such as Carl Steinitz, Stephen
Ervin, Bill Miller, Mike Goodchild, Ian Bishop, Christophe Girot, Henk
Scholten, Doug Olson, as well as many other
Geodesign related professionals will involve in the conference as
keynote speakers or participants.

07 January 2013

After Hurricane Sandy, there was a period of time during which New Jerseyans set aside political and personal differences to better their battered communities. But a story in the Star-Ledger suggests that is waning down in Toms River.

Shortly after the storm (11/18/12), the Star-Ledger's MaryAnn Spoto reported on a fairly clear correlation: areas with healthy coastal dune systems suffered limited damage while those with weak dunes experienced greater damage. Both scientists and politicians acknowledged this relationship, with Spoto offering this notable piece of evidence:

"If you look at the towns that have had engineered beaches, up and
down the state, those are the towns whose damage was minimal," Gov.
Chris Christie said during a visit to Monmouth County last week. "Other
towns that didn’t, the damage was much greater. I think that’s a lesson
for us as we move forward."

She also singled out one spot as being among the clearest for these issues:

By contrast, the Ortley Beach section of Toms River had the lowest
and thinnest dunes — 10 to 12 feet high and less than 50 feet wide — and
it sustained the most damage on the coast, Farrell said.

But now (1/5/12) Spoto reports that some Toms River property owners are keeping the municipality from building new post-storm dunes. With just 2 or 3 exceptions, the owners are refusing to sign over an easement along the shorefront, preventing the town from building the protective dunes. Not only does a delay leave open the possibility of new damage from a Nor'Easter, but it might also cause the town to miss its chance at Federal clean up funds.

The complaint, according to the article, isn't that this is an out-of control government taking their private property without justification. Instead, it seems focused on concerns about turning private beach into public. Spoto got this explanation:

Patricia Suriani, a member of one of the homeowners association boards
that hasn’t signed, says a majority of the residents voted against
giving the easement because they don’t want the private beach open to
the public. She said the easement request, seeking the strip of property
"in perpetuity," is vague and doesn’t give residents any assurance that
they won’t be required to build public bathrooms or a boardwalk.

Barry Chalofsky recently suggested that we start evaluating whether some beach communities should be very gradually depopulated. The next few months should bring more conflicts, but it will be especially interesting to see which way the public sentiment goes.

About the Author

An Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He also serves as Associate Director of the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis and Undergradaute Program Director for Environmental Planning and Design. As a graduate of Kentucky (BSLA), LSU (MLA) and Wisconsin (PhD), he has a passion for the critical role of state universities as a source for world-class research and education based on inquiry arousal but is too busy keeping up this award-winning blog. Dr. Tulloch can be reached at dtulloch[at]crssa.rutgers.edu

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